Anti-Semitism in the United States:
ADL Audit of Anti-Semitic Incidents in 2010

(Updated October 2011)

The Anti-Defamation
League's annual Audit of Anti-Semitic Incidents recorded 1,239 anti-Semitic incidents across the United
States in 2010, which represents a 2.3% increase over 2009.

These included:

22 physical assaults on Jewish individuals (down
from 29 in 2009)

900 cases of anti-Semitic harassment, threats and events (up from 760 in 2009)

317 cases of anti-Semitic vandalism (down from
422 in 2009)

This slight increase in incidents shows that anti-Semitism
in the U.S. remains unacceptably high. From assaults
to online hate content, from vandalism to harassment, the U.S. is far
from immune to the world's oldest hatred. Taken together with
the fact that anti-Semitism routinely appears in online environments,
the 2010 ADL Audit of Anti-Semitic Incidents demonstrates that anti-Semitism is a serious, persistent
and ingrained phenomena in America.

The 2010 Audit comprises incidents from 45 states and
the District of Columbia, including
official crime statistics as well as information provided to ADL's regional
offices by victims, law enforcement offices and community leaders and
members.

The 2.3% increase in the number of anti-Semitic incidents
follows several years of decline. Although no single factor explains
this slight increase, it occurs within the context of the continued
expansion of online anti-Semitism and hate. While, on the one
hand, this provides an outlet for people who may have otherwise expressed
themselves in non-virtual environments, on the other hand this may be
leading to a coarsening of attitudes and beliefs that has infected real
world behavior.

A total of 22 anti-Semitic assaults on Jewish individuals
(or individuals thought to be Jewish) took place in the United States
in 2010, according to the ADL Audit. In Illinois,
two suspicious packages that were intercepted on cargo planes Friday
were addressed to Chicago Jewish
institution are thought to have originated in Yemen as part of a plot by Al
Qaeda on the Arabian Peninsula.

ADL recorded 900 cases of anti-Semitic harassment
in 2010 up from 760 the year before. Incidents included verbal
attacks and slurs against Jewish individuals (or individuals perceived
to be Jewish); anti-Semitism conveyed in written or electronic communications,
including anti-Semitic cyberbullying; and anti-Semitic speeches, picketing,
or events.

"As a barometer of anti-Semitism in America, the Audit
helps us to identify trends across the country and to take stock of
how and where anti-Semitism is manifested," said Robert G. Sugarman,
ADL National Chair. "This information helps us to work with law
enforcement and others in cities and communities to address the problem
of hatred of Jews."

It is also important to note that 2010 saw fewer
incidents relating to the anti-Semitic activities of the Westboro Baptist
Church.

The Audit encompasses criminal acts, such as vandalism,
violence, and threats of violence, as well as non-criminal incidents
of harassment and intimidation. The latter is comprised primarily
of hate propaganda, leafleting and verbal slurs.

Continuing an adjustment made last year, the Audit continues
to include swastikas targeting Jews or Jewish institutions, but no
longer includes swastikas that are used without specifically
attacking Jews, which is a more conservative approach to counting
such graffiti. This approach recognizes that the Nazi swastika
is no longer exclusively used as a hate symbol against Jews; rather,
it is used in vandalism incidents targeting others or for its shock
value.

The Audit has never included, and does not now include,
thousands of anti-Semitic events that occurred in cyberspace.
This decision was made because anti-Semitism in cyberspace, a matter
of great concern to ADL, is virtually impossible to quantify.

While the Audit does not typically include expressions
of opposition to Zionism or Israel, it does include them if they are
accompanied by the invocation of classic anti-Semitic stereotypes, such
as Nazi imagery or analogies, or references that delegitimize, demonize
or reflect a double standard about Israel.